The Cowboys will enter Oxnard in a couple of weeks, able to fully focus on football...for a change.
As we get geared up for Dallas Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, fans are hopeful that what the franchise has done this offseason will give the team the best chance at being successful.
We have seen over the past couple of seasons that the manner in which Dallas operated suggested the front office was doing anything but putting the team in a good position to succeed.
You can't say that this time.
The Cowboys managed to get some shrewd free agents through the door with Rashan Gary, Cobie Durant, and Jalen Thompson. They drafted well, with Caleb Downs the centerpiece, and the hiring of Christian Parker has been met with adulation.
But perhaps the best thing the Cowboys have done this offseason has been their ability or desire to get the contract situations of their stars done efficiently and quietly.
Javonte Williams, Brandon Aubrey, and George Pickens all had their deals completed with minimal fuss before mandatory minicamp began.
Oh, how the times have change.
And for NFL Network's Jane Slater, when asked what the biggest offseason storyline is for the Cowboys as they get ready for training camp, it's that there really isn't one.
"This is going to be the 11th year of me covering the Dallas Cowboys for NFL Network, and I can't think of a training camp heading into that we really haven't been talking about significant contract issues," Slater said. "The Cowboys, believe it or not, got things done in the offseason."
Now, that is the contract part of the offseason.
We know of all the position battles that will take place in Oxnard, but the contract sagas of star players have dominated the offseason for years.
Last season, it was Micah Parsons. The year prior was CeeDee Lamb, who missed all of training camp, and before that, it was Dak Prescott, who got his deal the morning of the first game of the regular season.
But now? There's nothing on the horizon that could derail Dallas' offseason due to a contract dispute.
That, to me, is the biggest storyline of the offseason. The Cowboys have finally gotten to a point in the offseason where the main thing will be the main thing for the entire roster and coaching staff.
There's no worry of someone holding out or not reporting to camp; it's all done and smooth sailing.
That's the biggest storyline.
